Category: Speeches

Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been received by (a) her Department, (b) police forces, (c) the CPS and (d) HM Courts and Tribunal Service under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since 2010.

Mr John Hayes

The table below shows the total receipts for each department from all powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act in the financial year 1 April 2014-31 March 2015. The table includes data for England and Wales. The data for the Police also includes cash forfeiture receipts for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, but not confiscation receipts (under the devolution settlement, all confiscation receipts are retained by Northern Ireland, and the Home Office holds no data).

Total value of receipts in each year (in millions)	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Home Office	£77.94m	£81.54m	£76.07m	£79.52m	£84.71m
Police	£28.43m	£29.48m	£24.45m	£29.81m	£25.62m
Crown Prosecution Service	£11.02m	£15.13m	£17.01m	£18.43m	£17.99m
Ministry of Justice/HM Courts & Tribunal Service	£11.84m	£11.73m	£12.78m	£13.52m	£15.54m
All other agencies	£26.65m	£25.19m	£21.83m	£17.75m	£25.56m
Grand Total	£155.88m	£163.07m	£152.14m	£159.03m	£169.42m

01/01/2023

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of introducing cell-free DNA testing on the NHS on the number of women choosing to terminate their pregnancies.

Jane Ellison

There is a long established Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (NHS FASP) that prospective parents can choose whether to participate in.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has recommended that non-invasive prenatal testing for Down’s syndrome should be introduced as an additional test into the NHS FASP as part of an evaluation. Ministers are currently considering this important recommendation from the UK NSC which would give pregnant women and their partners more accurate information and should reduce the number of women having to undergo unnecessary invasive testing which carries a risk of miscarriage.

The UK NSC recommendation does not change the offer to prospective parents of participating in the programme, nor the options and choices available when testing identifies a fetus with Down’s, Edwards’ or Patau’s syndrome.

Existing guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists already makes it clear that women and their partners should receive appropriate information and support from a properly trained multidisciplinary team, who must adopt a supportive and non-judgemental approach regardless of whether the decision is to terminate or continue the pregnancy. This should include referral to other professional experts (including palliative care) and referral for counselling when this can help, as part of a co-ordinated package of care.

01/01/2023
John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, under which legislative provisions he took his decision on Ipswich Council’s planning application for the development of the Ravenswood affordable housing scheme.

Brandon Lewis

The Secretary of State called in this application for his own determination under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. His decision letter, which can be found on the Department’s website, stated that in deciding the application, the Secretary of State has had regard to section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 which requires that proposals be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

A copy of the decision letter is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/called-in-decision-areas-u-v-and-w-ravenswood-nacton-road-ipswich-suffolk-ref-3004099-13-june-2016

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01/01/2023
Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her policy is on the future funding of BBC Gaelic language broadcasting.

Matt Hancock

During the BBC Charter Review public consultation we have listened to views across a range of issues in relation to the BBC, including Gaelic language broadcasting.

There is a successful partnership between the BBC and MG Alba for the delivery of Gaelic language broadcasting. The White Paper, published in May 2016, sets out the Government’s intention to require maintain a commitment to minority language broadcasting through the new Charter.

The level of funding dedicated to BBC ALBA and the number of hours of in-house Gaelic language programming broadcast are matters for the BBC Board to consider when fulfilling this requirement under the new Charter.

01/01/2023
Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve oral health as part of the childhood obesity strategy.

Jane Ellison

Our comprehensive childhood obesity strategy, due to be published in the new year, will be looking at areas for potential action including diet and sugar consumption which are risk factors in poor oral health and tooth decay.

The Department is working with NHS England to test a possible new dental contract which will increase access and improve oral health. Building on earlier pilots we are about to move to a new stage of testing by establishing prototypes. The new dental prototypes will continue to test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease. This approach includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice to both patients and parents on diet and good oral hygiene.

In 2014 Public Health England (PHE) published an evidence informed toolkit for local authorities to support their work on oral health improvement among children and young people. PHE also published an evidence based toolkit for dental teams to support preventive advice and treatment for their patients. These toolkits include oral health improvement programmes and advice focussing on a healthier diet and reducing the consumption of free sugars.

In addition these toolkits include other methods to improve oral health, for example tooth brushing programmes and fluoride varnish application.

The PHE report Local authorities improving oral health: commissioning better oral health for children and young people: An evidence-informed toolkit for local authorities is attached and can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321503/CBOHMaindocumentJUNE2014.pdf

The PHE report Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention is attached and can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/367563/DBOHv32014OCTMainDocument_3.pdf

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01/01/2023
Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that funding is sufficient to meet patient demand in (a) community mental healthcare and (b) inpatient mental healthcare; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2015/16, Forward View into action: planning for 2015-16, sets out the expectation that clinical commissioning groups’ (CCGs) spending on mental health services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least as much as each CCG’s allocation increase to support the ambition of parity between mental and physical health. Compliance with the Planning Guidance is being assured at national and Area Team level.

01/01/2023
Baroness Suttie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the Childhood Obesity Strategy.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We will be launching our childhood obesity strategy shortly.

01/01/2023
Graham Brady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that bus service levels are maintained during the transition period before the introduction of a bus franchise.

Andrew Jones

We have given careful thought to the practical implications of the transition period and the possible safeguards that can be built in to the Bill to help maintain bus service levels for passengers. The Bill is still being drafted and it is therefore too early to confirm the detail of the process that may be proposed through the Bill.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that Highways England (HE) has agreed contingency plans with each local authority for the management of major incidents in their areas; how many local authorities have agreed a contingency plan with HE; and how many local authorities have not yet agreed such a plan with HE.

Andrew Jones

Highways England has a Crisis Management Manual which provides protocols for the management of the response for incidents that significantly affect the strategic road network.

Highways England is in the process of developing partnership agreements with 120 Local Authorities. So far, 65 partnership agreements have been sent out to Local Authorities. These include protocols for agreeing and using diversion routes when a section of the network has to be closed.

The vast majority of these authorities accept the principles of the agreement, but in some cases specific local issues need to be resolved and Highways England is engaged with those authorities to resolve them. However, it should be noted that a partnership agreement or otherwise would not adversely interfere with Highways England and Local Authorities working cooperatively in an emergency.

As a Category 2 responder in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, Highways England participates in Local Resilience Forums and contributes to the development of multi-agency plans for the response to Major Incidents (led by Category 1 responders).

01/01/2023
Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many judicial reviews against her Department have (a) been initiated and (b) were successful since 2010.

Karen Bradley

No central records are kept of (i) the number of judicial reviews initiated against the department since 2010; (ii) the cost of defending such challenges; or (iii) the number of such challenges which have been successful. It would incur disproportionate cost to try to acquire this information.

01/01/2023